1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to amusement machines and specifically to push button switches and unit used therefor.
2. Relate Art
Conventionally, there is an amusement machine called a slot machine. In the slot machine, a plurality of reels each of which displays plural symbols rotate. A payout ratio is determined depending on symbols and combinations of the symbols, which are displayed in a window when the reels stop. A player receives a prize based on the payout ratio and a wager amount. The plurality of reels start to rotate when a push button on a front surface of the slot machine has been pushed or a lever is pulled, and are then stopped by machine control.
In an amusement facility such as a casino in which slot machines are provided, amusement machines are provided that are manufactured by various manufacturers. Among such machines a player selects and plays one that suits the player's taste. Therefore, each amusement facility introduces machines that are popular with players to secure superiority over competitive amusement facilities. To meet these demands, each manufacturer strives to develop an attractive machine that can appeal to players.
Under these circumstances, a push button switch for starting rotation of reels is provided in a readily noticeable location of a slot machine front surface. Further, the push button switch is directly operated by a player. This is considered significantly important to player appeal via involving the push button switch in visual effects.
A known push button switch for starting reel rotation is configured with a face plate and a light emitting diode inside a transparent button cover so that an image or characters on the face plate inside the button can be seen by a player. However, according to this configuration, only one image or one character (string) on the face plate is shown to the player. Therefore a visual effect is provided only by switching ON/OFF the light emitting diode.
In order to solve such inconvenience, for example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a push button switch for starting rotation of reels wherein an organic light emitting diode display section is provided in a button.
Moreover, although not for an amusement machine, there is a push button switch for an elevator which switch has a configuration in which a button is made of a light guide plate so that light of a light emitting diode is emitted through the light guide plate. For example, Patent Literature 2 discloses a configuration in which front and rear surfaces of a light guide plate included in a button are subjected to different embossing processes (so as to have different light emission patterns), and a light source for a front embossed surface and a light source for a rear embossed surface are provided so as to face a lateral surface of the light guide plate at different respective heights. Patent Literature 2 discloses devices wherein the entire surface of the light guide plate is embossed, characters or numerals are depicted by embossing, and the like.